Southern California -- this just in

Family of missing nursing student tries to ‘keep her story alive’

Nursing student Michelle Le, 26, ducked out of work for a few minutes to grab something from her car, parked in the garage at Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in Hayward, Calif.

But she never came back –- and she didn't show up the next day for a scheduled weekend getaway.

Police later found her locked car a few blocks away. There were blood stains inside.

It has been more than three weeks since she disappeared on May 27, but family members say they are refusing to give up hope. They are distributing flyers, organizing vigils and searches, and even retracing her steps.

"We wake up each morning and think, what can we do today to keep her story alive?" said Krystine Dinh, 23, a cousin of the missing woman. "We don't do anything normal anymore."

Le grew up in San Diego County and moved to the Bay Area to attend college and nursing school. Police believe she was killed.

Volunteers scoured East Bay canyons over the weekend, chasing clues from Le's cellphone, which continued to emit signals until the middle of the day after her disappearance. A previous search of those same canyons by police and dogs failed to find a trace of her.

"There is the agony of waiting," said Dinh, who moved to San Mateo for a job and planned to stay with Le. The family keeps busy and focused on finding Le, but "if she never came home, what would we do?"